Progression
by SunshineDaisiesWindmills
Summary: Sirius Black and Lily Potter were not friends. They never had been, nor would they ever be. They had never hated each other, certainly, but were never enticed by the other's friendship. No, Sirius Black and Lily Potter were never friends.


**AN: Sirius and Lily, but not shippy. Friendshippy. Sort of.**

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><p>Sirius Black and Lily Evans were not friends.<p>

They didn't hate each other; by any means, they just weren't friends. Lily disapproved of his mischievous antics. Sirius failed to see the appeal of her. For the first six years of their schooling, they lived in harmonious apathy of one another.

And then everything changed.

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><p>"She said 'yes,'" James' voice was disbelieving as he walked into the dormitory and sat down on his bed.<p>

"She did?" Sirius asked him, looking over the magazine he was reading to see his best mate.

"Yeah," he ran his hand through his hair, "yeah, she did. I wasn't really expecting it."

"Nor I," he sat up from his lying position, setting his magazine off to the side. "Did you slip something in her pumpkin juice?" James glared at him. "No? Must just be daft then…" James' pillow hit him in the face. They laughed for a moment, and then Sirius asked, "Where you taking her?"

"Hogsmeade."

"For the trip?"

"Er, yeah," James catches the pillow Sirius throws back at him, "Can't very well sneak her out, can I? She'd kill me."

"She is a feisty one."

"Isn't it great?" James asked, as he fell backward on his bed.

"Sure," Sirius replied, getting up and grabbing a pack of cigarettes. He gestured them to James, "Want one?"

"Nah. I think I'm just going to stay up here for a bit. Figure out what to do next weekend."

"Cool. I'll help you later, if you need it." He walked toward the door.

"Thanks, mate," James said as Sirius walked out the door.

It wasn't that Sirius didn't like Lily, or that he was annoyed at the prospect of James dating her, he just didn't see the appeal.

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><p>"Did you <em>see<em> his face?" Sirius asked through his laughter as he and James stumbled through the portrait hole.

"Absolutely priceless," James responded.

"Whose face was priceless?" Lily asked, as she approached her boyfriend near the portrait hole.

The smile immediately fell from James' face. Sirius continued to beam, "Adelphus Whitehorn's as his food started attacking him at lunch," he explained, still chuckling.

"Right, that sounds very," her eyes rolled back as she searched for the right word to use, "_amusing._"

"Indeed it was."

"He thought it was funny," James added in an attempt to console his girlfriend, "he laughed after he got the celery out of his ears."

"Well, that's good to hear," she smiled at him.

"We wouldn't have done it otherwise," he promised with a grin.

"Right," she nodded knowingly.

"Are you headed somewhere?" He asked her.

"I promised Mary I'd help her with the potions project. But we're still on for tonight, right?"

"Of course." He leant down and pecked her on the lips as she walked out the door. Sirius looked on in disgust.

On their date that night, Lily brought up the incident at lunch.

"It was Sirius' idea," James explained.

"And you _had_ to go along with it?"

"No, but I thought it'd be funny, and it was." Lily narrowed her eyes. "Lily," he pleaded, "It was harmless. If I thought it would hurt him, I wouldn't have done it."

"I know," Lily sighed.

It wasn't that she didn't like Sirius, or that she thought he was a bad influence on James, she just disapproved of his mischievous antics.

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><p>During their seventh year, their forced contact by James certainly improved their relationship, but even on graduation day, when they cried and hugged and promised that it wasn't goodbye, neither considered the other to be their friend. They were friend<em>ly<em> perhaps, but not friends. They could carry on a conversation, and took an interest in each other's lives, but would never seek out the other's company. After all, Sirius was far too reckless, and Lily was quite the bore.

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><p>"JAAAAAAMEEEEEES!"<p>

Lily awoke with a start from the lovely sleep she had been sharing with her boyfriend.

"JAMES!"

She grasped clumsily around on the headboard for her wand, waiting until she had it firmly in her fist to rise from the bed. There were creaky footsteps in the hallway headed- yes, definitely headed to the bedroom door. Lily rose, holding her wand out in front of her, and walked slowly toward the door.

"PRONGS!"

Oh, Merlin, it wasn't- the door opened with a bang, "Sirius?" she whispered.

"LILY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? WHERE'S JAMES?" The reason for his shouting was clear by the dark bottle in his hand.

"Sirius," she whispered again, "He's sleeping, I gave him a potion."

"A POTION? WHAT FOR?" he demanded.

"To help him sleep," she spat, "but it'll hardly help if you keep shouting!"

"Oh," Lily walked quickly to the door, grabbed Sirius by the arm and pulled him into the hallway, closing the door behind him, "Ow! Lily! You're hurting!"

Her green eyes narrowed at him, "You're lucky I didn't curse you! Barging in screaming like that!"

"Well how was I supposed to know you were here? It's not like you-" he paused, panicking, "Do you live here?"

Lily exhaled loudly, and looked away from him, "Sort of. I don't really see the point in going home anymore."

"Oh," even in the dark, Lily could tell his face had become much more solemn, "I'll go then."

He went to leave, but Lily held onto his arm, "No, Sirius, it's okay. Would you like a cup of tea?" She smiled at him, though in the dark she wasn't sure he noticed.

"Well, alright," he shrugged, and allowed Lily to lead him into the kitchen. He sat down at the table while Lily put the kettle on.

She sat down next to him, "So," she began, "does this happen often?" a small smile played on her lips.

His eyes narrowed, "What on earth are you talking about?" His face was kept straight, a talent Sirius possessed that Lily was always a bit jealous of.

"Barging in drunk and screaming for James."

"I am not drunk!" He slammed his fist on the table for emphasis.

"Sirius," her voice was completely even, "You just apparated into his flat with a bottle of firewhiskey and proceeded to scream at him."

"Exactly my point! If I was drunk I wouldn't be able to apparate, now would I?"

"Well, I should hope not, but I doubt there's anything you can't do, sober or not."

"A wise theory," he smiled smugly and nodded his head.

She laughed despite herself. With perfect timing, the kettle whistled, and Lily rose to fetch the tea. She came back clutching two mugs, set one down near her seat, and the other in front of Sirius, "Two sugars, right?" he nodded in response.

They both took a few silent sips before Sirius began, "So how long has this been going on?" Lily raised her eyebrows to question him, "Living here, drugging my best mate," Lily swallowed, "I mean… I know he's attractive, but I don't really think you need to drug him to get him into bed…"

It took all of Lily's effort to swallow the tea currently in her mouth. She choked a bit, cleared her airway, and began laughing out loud. After a moment, she took a deep breath and replied, "Well, he is a rough one, let me tell you…" she continued laughing, and Sirius chuckled, not sure if he had actually wanted to know that bit of information. When the laughter had left the moment, she continued, "I gave him the potion because he asked for it. He's had some trouble sleeping lately, and figured tonight would be a good one to catch up."

"Weird," he replied after a moment, "Prongs never thought any night was good for rest before…"

"It's a Tuesday!"

"Doesn't matter," he shrugged, and took a long gulp of tea, "he's growing up, isn't he?"

"He has, yeah," she saw Sirius frown and added, "Not completely though. He still thinks fart jokes are funny."

Sirius burst into laughter.

They were not friends. It was doubtful they ever could be. Lily was _far_ too boring for Sirius, but maybe, he pondered, maybe boring was okay. Maybe it was nice to have someone responsible to look after you. But he didn't need another responsible friend; that was what Remus was for.

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><p>"You bought a motorbike."<p>

"Yeah."

"Why?" Remus' voice was stern, and attempted to avoid judgment.

"Because I wanted one."

"Okay then," he shrugged, "If that's what you want."

"It is," he nodded enthusiastically.

"What, me?" Peter asked as he walked into the room, "We've talked about this Sirius, I love you as a _friend._"

"Oh, piss off," Sirius gave Peter a playful shove.

"Oi!" Lily shouted as she and James walked in, "What's he done?"

"He's just suppressing his obvious feelings for me." Peter clarified.

"He's bought a motorbike," Remus explained.

"You bought a motorbike?" James questioned. Sirius nodded. "Does it-?" Sirius nodded again. "Bloody hell!"

"What's it do?" Lily asked.

"Well," Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "I could give you a ride and show you."

Lily blinked, "Really?" All four male heads turned to look at her. "What? I've always wanted to ride a motorbike."

"Well let's go then."

The group made their way outside, where the motorbike awaited them. Sirius climbed on, and motioned for her to climb behind him. James' eyes widened slightly, but he did not speak a word.

"Ready, Evans?" he asked as he revved the engine.

"Oh !" she half screamed as the bike began to fly down the road. Quickly, the scream turned into laughter.

"Are you ready to see what she can do?" Sirius yelled against the wind.

"Definitely!"

"Alright then!"

He swerved quickly into a dead end alley, and Lily gasped, too frightened to close her eyes. Before she knew it, the ground was no longer beneath them, and they were _actually_ flying!

"What? Sirius! How?" she could not make sense of anything. Her eyes wandered, taking in every sight: the clouds around her, the streets beneath her, and the rumbling bike holding her up. She held on to Sirius a little closer. All too soon, they landed and found their way back to Remus' flat.

"Alright who's next?" Sirius called to them.

Lily hopped off and went straight to James, her grin apparently permanent, "James," she began, "You have _got_ to get one of those!"

Sirius was not her friend, and probably never would be. He was far too reckless. Of course, recklessness was good, sometimes. It opened you up, made you live a little, value life more. And she loved that, she really did, but that's why she was with James.

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><p>Alas, despite James' best efforts, it seemed as though Lily and Sirius would remain friendly acquaintances forever. Grudgingly, James resigned himself to the fact that the two most important people in his life would never be friends.<p>

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><p>There were several wet spots on her clothing from the tears she was no longer bothering to hold back. Lily sat on the edge of her chair, leaning forward, and holding a hand that would send no message to its owner.<p>

"James," she said, "Please wake up."

There was no response. She squeezed the hand, and began rubbing small circles on it. She sniffed loudly as she looked at the empty face of her husband. The laughter that usually marked it was not there. There was no joy, nor was there any other emotion. There was not even a trace of color. No life at all. The curse he had been hit with robbed him of it. His heart was beating, and his chest was slowly moving up and down, those were the only signs of the life still within him.

A new wave of sobs racked her body, "Please, James, please." She brought his hand slowly to her lips and kissed it softly, "I love you, James, please."

A commotion drew her attention away from James, and toward the door, where the world was still turning.

"You can't go in there!" someone shouted, a Healer, probably.

"Like Hell you'll keep me out!" another voice countered. A familiar voice. Sirius?

"Only family is allowed!" The Healer was angry.

The door burst open, and though her attention was there, it still surprised her. Definitely Sirius. He was struggling with the Healer to get in. With a great shove, the Healer managed to remove Sirius temporarily from the room, "Sorry, Mrs. Potter, I tried telling him only family was allowed, but he wouldn't listen."

"No, no of course he wouldn't," her voice was tinged with annoyance, "Are you stupid?" her temper was rising, "Let him in!"

"But, Mrs. Potter," the Healer argued, "Only family is allowed on this wing."

"Yes, and you're keeping out my husband's brother! Let him in!"

The Healer's mouth fell into a small "Oh," his face turned beet red, "of course, of course, I'm sorry ma'am," he turned to Sirius, "Sorry, sir, by all means," he gestured for him to enter the room.

He walked in quietly, sat on the opposite side of James' bed, facing Lily, "Thank you," he said solemnly.

"No problem," she looked at him with compassion, her mouth turned upward at the corners, but her eyes lacked any joy, "I'm glad you're here."

"What-" he choked, "What did they say?"

"They don't know a lot yet. He's stable, but they don't when-" she began crying again, "they don't know if he'll wake up."

"But he will," Sirius responded, "You know he will."

Lily remained silent. She reclaimed the hand she had left a few moments earlier, stroking it gently and occasionally pressing kisses to it. Sirius sat back in his chair and stared straight ahead. They stayed that way longer than either of them knew, hours or days or maybe even years. A blur of life passed around them, shifting positions and attending Healers. They stayed that way until, eventually, James' eyes began to flutter.

In an instant, Sirius and Lily were hovering over him. Slowly, James opened his eyes, and let out a groan as he did so. Lily beamed at him. He focused on her, smiled and croaked, "Hullo, love." More tears, of joy this time, fell from her face. His gaze shifted to Sirius, "They let you in here?" The pair of boys laughed.

Lily smiled, the first genuine smile since she had entered St. Mungo's, "Of course they did,"

Sirius Black and Lily Potter were not friends. They never had been, nor would they ever be. They had never hated each other, certainly, but were never enticed by the other's friendship. He was mischevious and reckless; she was downright boring, and well, he never saw the appeal. No, Sirius Black and Lily Potter were never friends.

"He's family."

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


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